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WATERSTONE’S NOTTINGHAM BRIDLE
…Saturday, 5 March 2011, 11:00AM
Come and meet the local teen fantasy author. She will be in the children’s department to chat and sign copies of bestselling sequel ‘Turncoats’ and her debut novel, the gripping mystical adventure, ‘The Thirteenth’ (shortlisted for the Lincolnshire Young People’s Book Awards 2011).

At the start of the New Year, how many of us vow to do something we’ve longed to do, making determined resolutions that this time, we’ll do it? Fast forward six months into the year and many will be saying how they still need to start working on their New Year resolutions. Before you go giving up before you’ve even started, take some inspiration from a woman who has achieved something amazing… writer G.L. Twynham.

The self-published author has topped Waterstone’s chart despite leaving school at the age of 14 without a single qualification. She’s a normal, down-to-earth, working class mother who has against all odds, penned and released two fantasy fiction novels despite having no money and a daughter to raise. She works nights just to have the time to write her books during the day but, with a young child at home, it’s obviously quite a struggle. Still, that hasn’t stopped her from being shortlisted for a regional book award and spending the last 12 months meeting over 3,000 school children after being invited by head-teachers to share her experiences with their pupils!

She’s also completed a plethora of regional media interviews, established a dedicated following on Facebook and has, incredibly, been added to Waterstone’s core list of titles (so her books are automatically re-ordered when they sell out) – a rarity most established authors would kill for! She’s now writing book three, which is due for release later this year.

Her debut novel, The Thirteenth, is up for the Lincolnshire Young People’s Book Awards 2011, which will be voted for by school children across the county. Facing competition from esteemed authors Emily Gale, Maggie Stiefvater, Suzanne LaFleur and Rosemary Hayes, G.L. Twynham is a remarkable inspiration to everyday UK women who are determined to follow their dreams despite the challenges of today’s tough economic climate.

Self-published Author Georgia Twynham At In-Store Book Signing

Born in Leicestershire, the author moved to Menorca as a teen where she lived and worked for 11 years as a humble waitress in her family’s restaurant. She returned to the UK and eventually settled in Lincolnshire, where she still lives with her young daughter. With no qualifications and few employment opportunities, she was facing dead end job after dead end job.

Instead of letting herself get stuck in a rut, she decided to fulfil her lifetime ambition by writing a book about the one thing she says had been missing throughout her entire childhood – a British female super heroine! With some help from her mum, Twynham self-published her debut novel The Thirteenth in 2009, introducing Val Saunders, a young girl with a huge destiny that is somehow linked to the strange, 13-symbol tattoo she mysteriously finds etched in her arm one morning!

The first in a six part saga, The Thirteenth quickly established a huge fanbase across the UK and thanks to this and the support of the media, G.L. Twynham forged ahead with a second book. The Turncoats was officially launched in Waterstone’s on October 27th, 2010, promptly reaching number 1 in their chart. Amazing!

The books are really cool; one journalist has compared them to Anne Rice’s work, the Syfy channel has given them the thumbs up on its website and judging by all the testimonials online from teenagers and their parents, they seem to be loving G.L. Twynham’s work. All this and I don’t think she even has an agent!

If she can fulfil her dreams, why can’t we? Let’s all do a G.L. Twynham this year and achieve something great. We can do it if we try.